Just Blame Me For Being Blind in the Beginning - Chapter 39

Teacher Xin Xin was so handsome!

Pei Xiuran sat on the sofa in the living room, the two bodyguards standing behind him, straight as pillars.

On the wall across from him, there hung a minimalist clock. As it went tick tock tick tock, Pei Xiuran started to feel like he was sitting in an exam room.

He stared at the multiple choice question in front of him, and after five minutes, he finally randomly chose option C. Somewhat irritated, he put down his pen and picked up his phone to call Pei Ying.

“Hello?”

Hearing a stranger’s voice on the other end of the phone, Pei Xiuran frowned. He asked, “Who is this? I’m looking for Pei Ying.”

“I’m Pei Ying’s assistant. She’s currently working and cannot answer the phone. I can take a message for you if you’d like.”

“Is there any point in telling you?” Pei Xiuran grew more irritated. “I need to find Pei Ying. I’m her younger brother.”

The assistant persisted, “I’m sorry, but Pei Ying really can’t answer the phone right now. Why don’t you call back later?”

“I need to find her right now!”

“I’m sorry, Ms Pei cannot answer the phone right now.”

“…Are you a robot?!” Pei Xiuran frowned and hung up.

He stood up from the sofa and the bodyguards behind him immediately moved to follow. Pei Xiuran turned and glared at them, but the two men seemed not to have noticed, as they continued to follow him, step by step.

Pei Xiuran quickly walked around the living room once, and then he pulled out his cellphone again. He called his mother.

“Xiuran ah, where are you going to play today?” Mama Pei answered quickly and asked her son happily.

Pei Xiuran said, “Play? Sis locked me up in the house to study!”

“Ah? How can she lock you up inside? Don’t worry, I’ll give her a call.”

“She’s working. She won’t even pick up my calls!”

“What about your brother-in-law then?”

“He went to work too! I’m the only one at home, and I haven’t even had lunch yet!”

“Okay, okay, I got it. I’ll give Xiujuan a call. Wait a minute.” After she finished speaking, Mama Pei hung up and called Pei Ying. Of course, the one to answer the phone was still Pei Ying’s assistant.

“Hello?”

Mama Pei was taken aback for a moment. She said to the person on the other end of the line, “Who are you? I’m looking for Pei Xiujuan.”

The assistant responded, “Hello, I’m Ms Pei’s assistant. She’s currently working and cannot answer the phone. If you have something to tell her, you can leave a message with me.”

Mama Pei shouted angrily, “Tell her to answer the phone right now!”

“I’m sorry, Ms Pei currently cannot answer the phone.”

“What do you mean she can’t answer? Can’t she take a break when she’s working? Put her on the phone now. I’m her mother!”

“I’m sorry, even if you’re her mother, I can’t do anything about it.”

“….”

Before Mama Pei could react, the assistant said, “Since you don’t want to leave a message, then I’ll be hanging up. Goodbye.”

With a beep, the call ended.

Mama Pei, “….”

After that, she called twice more, only to be given the same response by the assistant.

When Pei Ying walked out from Chen Sheng’s office, she asked her assistant, “Did my family give me a call?”

Her assistant nodded and returned her phone to her. “Your brother called once, and your mother called three times.”

Pei Ying glanced at her call history and told her assistant, “Thank you for the trouble.”

“No need. This is my job.”

Pei Ying smiled and then said, “Wait until I make more money. I’ll give you a bonus.”

“Thank you, Ms Pei.” Her assistant followed her into the elevator and asked, “What do you plan on doing next?”

“I’ve signed the contract for the advertisement, and filming starts tomorrow. GM Chen will probably email you the itinerary and details.”

Her assistant expressed her understanding and then asked, “So, should I send you home now?”

“No.” Pei Ying considered for a moment, and then she said, “Send me to Ren Shanshan’s studio. I haven’t seen her in a long time.” She should let Pei Xiuran stay by himself at the villa to slowly write his practice exams.

As her assistant drove her to Ren Shanshan’s studio, Mama Pei called Pei Ying again. Pei Ying glanced at the screen and answered the phone, “Mom, what is it?”

“So you still know that I’m your mother? I thought you weren’t going to answer my phone for the rest of your life.”

Her tone seemed a bit heavy, but Pei Ying didn’t mind. She responded calmly, “I just finished up with work and was about to give you a call. What did you need?”

“I heard you locked your brother up at home?”

“I only had him work on some practice exams. When he finishes them, he can go out to have fun.”

“He just started his summer break. Can’t you let him relax a bit? He specifically went to A City to hang out with you, not to study.”

Pei Ying responded, “I’m currently busy with work, so I can’t stay with him every single moment.”

“Can’t you take a break from work? Is your brother or your work more important?”

Pei Ying chuckled and refuted, “If I don’t work, who’s going to pay for my brother’s living expenses?”

Mama Pei coughed and then said, “Isn’t there still Song Nanchuan?”

“Pei Xiuran is your son, not his son. Why would he help to raise your son?”

“After you two get married, Xiuran will be his brother-in-law…”

“Are a brother-in-law and a son the same?” Without waiting for a response, Pei Ying continued, “Moreover, I’m having Pei Xiuran work on practice exams for his own good. It’s not like you don’t know what his grades are like. If he continues on this way, will he even be able to graduate?”

Regardless of whatever Mama Pei might have wanted to say, Pei Ying cut her off again. “The director’s calling me to work. I’m hanging up.” After she hung up, she handed her phone to her assistant.

As expected, Mama Pei called again. When she heard the assistant answer the phone, she didn’t say anything and immediately hung up.

She called Pei Xiuran and asked him what was going on. Pei Xiuran just started to argue with her when his phone automatically shut off. Pei Xiuran pulled out his charger, but even after awhile, the phone made no response. The bodyguards following behind him explained expressionlessly, “Mr Pei, the electricity and internet to the house have been shut off.”

Pei Xiuran, “….”

Was it necessary to be this strict?

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He headed to the stairs furiously, planning to pack up his things. He was going to go home, but unexpectedly, he was stopped by the bodyguards. “Mr Pei, where are you going?”

Pei Xiuran shouted angrily, “I’m going home! No need to wait on this young master anymore!”

The bodyguards responded, “Mr Song’s orders were that you can only leave once you finish a set of practice exams.”

Pei Xiuran, “….”

He looked over the bodyguards for a moment and feigned defiance. He raised up his chin, “And if I have to go out?”

The bodyguards responded, “We won’t let you leave.”

Pei Xiuran, “….”

He put down his bag and quickly returned to the living room. After a few minutes, he filled in the test paper that he’d been working on previously.

“Now I can leave, right?” He put down his pen and headed to the door. He didn’t expect to be stopped by the bodyguards.

“Please wait a moment. We have to check the papers.”

Pei Xiuran, “….”

One of the bodyguards held onto him while the other picked up the papers. He looked over them and then turned back, “I’m sorry, Mr Pei. Your score is too low for us to consider this test completed. To be blunt, even if you had guessed randomly, you would have gotten a higher score.”

“……” Didn’t they say he just had to finish the test? Now, he had to get enough of the questions correct??

“Please re-do this.” The bodyguard handed him back the exam paper.

Pei Xiuran, “….”

As he struggled with the English exam, Pei Ying was sitting with Ren Shanshan in her studio, snacking and chatting.

Ren Shanshan looked at Pei Ying and gave a slimy smile. “Your complexion has really gotten nicer recently. Your cheeks are so rosy, and your skin is so supple.”

“….” Pei Ying gave her a sidelong look. “Why do you seem so much like that perverted stalker?”

“I’m just speaking truth.” Ren Shanshan shot a flirtatious glance at her. “From the looks of it, CEO Song’s keeping you satisfied.”

Pei Ying, “….”

No matter how long it’s been since they’ve met, Ren Shanshan was still as pervy as ever.

She coughed and then changed the subject, “Oh yeah, how’s your new model?”

“So-so. I have to pay her though, which is annoying.”

“….” Not paying her would be the weird thing, okay? Pei Ying took a sip of her milk tea and said to Ren Shanshan, “I heard from GM Chen that Season of Love is making a lot of money now. When I get my bonus, I’ll treat you to a meal.”

“Sounds good.” Free meals and drinks were Ren Shanshan’s favorite things. “Have your CEO Song invite some of his CEO buddies too. Remember, single and male.”

Pei Ying couldn’t help rolling her eyes. “Are you still caught up on that idea?”

“Of course. Not everyone can sleep with a CEO.”

Pei Ying, “….”

Ren Shanshan imagined for a bit and then asked Pei Ying, “You said that your brother’s here. Don’t you have to take care of him?”

“Oh, him. He should be at home studying right now.” As she was speaking, her phone rang. When that familiar melody started to play, Ren Shanshan couldn’t help reminiscing about the past a bit.

“It’s Song Nanchuan,” Pei Ying said. She picked it up, “Chuan Chuan, what is it?”

Song Nanchuan responded, “The bodyguards just called me and said that Pei Xiuran finished one of the CET Band 4 exams, and then he packed up and left.”

“Left? Did he go home?”

“Mm. That’s what he told the bodyguards.” Song Nanchuan’s voice grew a bit regretful. “If I knew he was such a flippant person, I wouldn’t have refunded our plane tickets.”

“…Forget it. He just arrived and now he’s leaving, so you must be happy.”

Song Nanchuan chuckled, “Right. So, what should we have a celebratory dinner tonight?”

“…Sure.” But if her brother found out, he’d probably cry.

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Although Pei Xiuran left, Pei Ying had already signed the contract for an advertisement, so as before, their travel plans remained delayed. The ad filming went very smoothly, and Pei Ying ate the black pepper steak rice very happily. Most importantly, she gained the right to have free pepper steak rice for the rest of her life.

She wouldn’t ever have to worry about going hungry.

It was the end of July when she finished her ad job, and the opening press conference for The Performer took place.

Pei Ying didn’t have any work at the time, so she sat in front of the TV, bright and early to watch the broadcast of the conference.

The only people in attendance for The Performer‘s conference were Mo Zhen, the director, a Universe Pictures’ representative, and the original author, Teacher Xin Xin. Aside from Mo Zhen being the main lead, the production side hadn’t released any information about any other actors or roles for the movie, leaving everyone hanging.

But even with Mo Zhen alone, he was enough to carry the momentum.

From the moment that he stepped onto the stage, the enthusiasm and camera flashes in the audience continued nonstop. Even among the reporters, he had many fans.

Only when Teacher Xin Xin appeared on the stage did the audience settle down for a moment, before the hubbub continued as everyone kept taking photos of him.

Even on the other end of a TV screen, Pei Ying was amazed. She looked at the man sitting behind the crystal placard that read “Original Author, Xin Xin,” and she even forgot to blink.

Gosh, Teacher Xin Xin was so handsome!!!